Bev & Company moved to the Triphammer Marketplace in the Village of Lansing in February. The store caters to women of all ages with clothing and accessories. It is one of three Bev & Company stores owned by Homer native Reneé Neiderman. The stores carry 28 brands, most of which are made in the United States.

"We carry women's clothing and accessories," says Neiderman. "We hit all areas from size 2 to 18, and from size 1x to 3x. We carry clothing for younger women and clothing more mature women appreciate. We carry all different price ranges from affordable to higher end clothing. We carry Alex and Ani, a new jewelry line, Brighton jewelry, and Vera Bradley purses. And we have some shoes."

Neiderman says she always had an interest in clothing. She attributes it to her mother Beverly, who opened the first store in Homer in 1978, and has passed on that love of clothing to her two daughters as well.

"I've always loved clothing and my daughters do, too," she says. "You should see our closets. We like clothes!"

Buying for the store is a family affair. Her mother and daughter help, travelling to New York and Boston, and talking with sales representatives who come to the store. Neiderman says she doesn't look for a particular style so much as she insists on well made clothing.

"I am very fussy about materials and how it's made," she says. "We go for good quality clothing lines. Clothing is so personal that I try to bring a little bit of everything in. Clothing is not about age. It's about your body type and personality whether you are flamboyant and fun or conservative and classy. It's all about the person so I don't stick to one particular type of clothing. I bring a little bit of everything in here."

Neiderman was studying business in college when Beverly started the Homer store in 1978, then worked for NYSEG for 18 years. In 1998 she bought the business from her mother with the goal of staying closer to home and spending more time with her then young children. At first she only wanted the one store, but eventually felt she had taken the business as far as she could in Homer.

"I knew if I was going to grow I would have to open another store," she says. "It was the only way I was going to be able to take it to the next level."

That led to a store in Sackets Harbor, NY, a historic town on Lake Ontario where her family has a cabin. That store did well, especially during the summer tourist season, so she set her sites on Ithaca for a third store that opened in Community Corners in 2010.

"I've always loved Ithaca," she says. "My husband is from Ithaca and I always felt we could do well here. We had a lot of Ithaca customers coming to Homer, so I knew there was a market here."

Reneé Neiderman

Neiderman says the only way to know if a garment looks good is to try it on. Her staff encourages customers to use the dressing rooms, and often suggest clothes and accesseries to try.

"We have relationships with our customers," Neiderman says. "We know when they're getting married. We know when they're graduating. We know when they're having a special birthday. When they come in the store you find out their story. That's the fun part of it. You make so many friends that really mean a lot to us."

Alterations and gift wrapping are available, and Neiderman notes that her staff helps a lot of men shop for gifts.

"We love to get people in the dressing room and feeding them what we think would look good on them," she says. "Sometimes the things that look the worst on the hangar look the best on the body. If people are open to trying new things we just love it. We bring the same kind of experience to all three locations. We're really customer oriented. What our customers expect us to be, we want to be that notch above."

The new store is twice the size of the Community Corners location, and Neiderman says it is getting more foot traffic. About four employees are in the Ithaca store, and in the peak season the three stores have 22 altogether including full and part timers.

"We have relationships with our customers," Neiderman says. "We know when they're getting married. We know when they're graduating. We know when they're having a special birthday. When they come in the store you find out their story. That's the fun part of it. You make so many friends that really mean a lot to us."